Agenda and day hybrid calendar view

ABSTRACT

A user interface and user interface control for displaying calendar data is provided. In particular, the user interface provides a hybrid view that includes both a schedule view of listed calendar items together with an overview strip that displays a compressed version of the schedule view. The selection of an appointment is reflected in both the schedule view portion of the view and the overview strip. As a result, users are able to easily see conflicts and free time while retaining a simple chronological listing of their day&#39;s commitments. Through the use of this hybrid view, the number of views to navigate between can be reduced without sacrificing function to simplify the calendaring experience.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/465,929, entitled “Agenda And Day Hybrid Calendar View”, filed onAug. 21, 2006, which application claims the benefit of U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/746,551, entitled “Agenda And Day HybridCalendar View”, filed on May 5, 2006, the entireties of all of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Mobile users, particularly those that spend significant time workingoutside of an office and away from a desk, rely heavily on their mobileor handheld devices to keep themselves organized and on-time formeetings, appointments, and even flights. To address the increasingdemands of such users, handheld computing devices such as pocket PCs,smart phones, and mini-compact PCs have lead to smaller and more compactmulti-functional devices. However, the ever-shrinking devices also meansmaller and smaller screen sizes. As a result, many new challenges forapplications in terms of conveying and displaying content that is bothuseful and readable have arisen. Take a calendar application forexample. In the calendar space, displaying the relevant content to theuser tends to be more difficult as screen sizes decrease.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the systems and/or methods discussedherein. This summary is not an extensive overview of the systems and/ormethods discussed herein. It is not intended to identify key/criticalelements or to delineate the scope of such systems and/or methods. Itssole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The subject application relates to a user interface and user interfacecontrol system that facilitates visualizing calendar data from multipleperspectives particularly on smaller handheld devices where screen realestate is limited or restricted. More specifically, the user interfacecontrol displays calendar items in a schedule view as well as anoverview strip or bar for a current window of time on display. Theschedule view provides a detailed linear listing of the calendar itemsin chronological order according to the indicated time. The calendaritems can include appointments, events, and activities that can beassociated with a specific time of the day (e.g., 1:30-3:00 PM) or canoccur “all-day” with no specific time indicated. Thus, the schedule viewdisplays the name or title of the appointment, event, or activity, time,and location when known in a relatively uncomplicated manner to maximizethe amount of text which can be displayed for each calendar item.

In addition to the schedule view, a time-oriented overview strip ofexisting calendar items can be displayed in the display space along withthe schedule view to provide a peripheral understanding of the durationof the calendar items and of when there are free times in the user'sday. More specifically, the overview strip can encompass any number ofhours or a time window (e.g., 8-hour block of time from 12:00 AM to 8:00AM), whereby the length or duration of any one calendar item isexpressed as a bar. The size of the bar corresponds to the duration ofthe calendar item. The bars can appear in different colors or shadingsto indicate the status of the appointment or the status of the userduring the appointment. For instance, a green bar for a meeting canindicate that the user will be out of the office for the meeting or canindicate that the meeting will be conducted via video-conferencing.

The schedule view and overview strip can operate in tandem to provideconsistent information to the user when viewing or navigating throughthe information. For example, as the user scrolls through the scheduleview, the overview strip view can shift to the appropriate time windowto correspond to the calendar items currently shown in the displayspace. The shift of the time window either forward or backward can bevisualized using various animation effects. As a result of suchanimation, the user retains context of the content displayed on-screenwhen the time window shifts.

Calendar items shown in the schedule view can include various visualnotifications to inform the user of item status or of conflicts betweenitems. The overview strip can mirror such notifications using similarvisual cues to capture the user's attention. The use of such visual cuesin the overview strip facilitates scheduling future items in a moreefficient manner. Even more so, the combination of the schedule view andthe overview strip displayed on-screen at the same time reduces thenumber of screens the user must navigate between to obtain theinformation.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects of the invention are described herein in connectionwith the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspectsare indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be employed and the subject invention isintended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Otheradvantages and novel features of the invention may become apparent fromthe following detailed description of the invention when considered inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a user interface control system thatfacilitates displaying calendar items from multiple perspectives on auser interface.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a user interface control system thatdisplays calendar items from at least two different perspectives (e.g.,schedule view and overview strip view) to provide a user with bothcurrent and peripheral information.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary user interface that provides abetter overall sense of a day's outlook quickly at-a-glance while stillretaining the ability to see more detailed information regarding atleast a subset of calendar items.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary user interface displaying existing calendar itemsfor a particular day.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an exemplary overview strip thatdemonstrates the manner in which a calendar item is represented in theoverview strip.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of exemplary status indicators and correspondingvisual cues (e.g., color) for each that can be reflected in the calendaritem in the schedule view as well as in the same item indicated in theoverview strip.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary user interface displaying a visual representationcorresponding to at least one all-day calendar item as it is reflectedin the schedule view and overview strip view.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary user interface displaying a visual representationof conflicting calendar items in the schedule view and overview stripview.

FIG. 9 is a diagram that demonstrates exemplary time windows for a24-hour period which can be based on screen orientation (e.g. portraitor landscape).

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary environment for implementing variousaspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject systems and/or methods are now described with reference tothe drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the systems and/or methods. It may beevident, however, that the subject systems and/or methods may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knownstructures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order tofacilitate describing them.

As used herein, the terms “component” and “system” are intended to referto a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardwareand software, software, or software in execution. For example, acomponent may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on aprocessor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,a program, and a computer. By way of illustration, both an applicationrunning on a server and the server can be a component. One or morecomponents may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and acomponent may be localized on one computer and/or distributed betweentwo or more computers.

The subject systems and/or methods can incorporate various inferenceschemes and/or techniques in connection with recognizing the time windowin which a majority of the user's calendar items occur and then showingthis time window upon opening the calendar for viewing. In addition,inference schemes can be employed to determine priorities of conflictingcalendar items such as when no priority status has been assigned or whenthe conflicting items have the same priority. Higher priority items canbe visually enhanced to appear more prominent to the user.

As used herein, the term “inference” refers generally to the process ofreasoning about or inferring states of the system, environment, and/oruser from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data.Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, orcan generate a probability distribution over states, for example. Theinference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probabilitydistribution over states of interest based on a consideration of dataand events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed forcomposing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Suchinference results in the construction of new events or actions from aset of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not theevents are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether theevents and data come from one or several event and data sources.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is a block diagram of a user interfacecontrol system 100 that facilitates displaying calendar items 105 frommultiple perspectives on a screen at the same time, and in particular,on a smaller handheld or portable device screen. The user interfacecontrol 100 includes a multi-view display component 110 that can displaycalendar items 105 in at least two different perspectives. A first orprimary perspective provides a linear listing of the current or upcomingcalendar items on a particular day. Due to limited screen real estateand the amount of text displayed for each calendar item, the displaycomponent 110 can display at least a subset of the items 105 occurringwithin a time window. For example, suppose the time window spans a 10hour period (e.g., 2:00 PM-12:00 AM). The screen size may only allow forthe items occurring between 2:00 and 6:30 PM to be displayed, therebyrequiring the user to scroll down to view the appointments occurringthereafter.

A second or supplemental perspective provides a peripheral overview orcompressed view of the calendar items 105 that exist within a timewindow. This view mitigates the need to page or scroll to additionalscreen views to see the activities planned during the particular timewindow. For instance, referring to the same example as above, theperipheral overview can display the hours within the time window of 2PM-12:00 AM in a vertical or horizontal strip. A bar spanning the timeor duration of each calendar item 105 can be used to represent therespective item. The length of the bar can indicate the duration of theitem (e.g., FIG. 4, infra) in order to quickly convey when the user hasplanned activities or when the user has free time (e.g., available). Forexample, imagine the user has an hour long event scheduled from 4-5:00PM. The length of the bar would span from hour 4 to hour 5. Now imaginethat another event is scheduled from 2 PM to 2:30 PM. In this case, thelength of the bar would span from hour 2 to about a midpoint betweenhours 2 and 3. Moreover, the peripheral view provides a user with quickinformation regarding her availability throughout the day while at thesame time displaying current and upcoming appointments in more detail aswell.

To further facilitate the amount or quality of information that isprovided to the user via the multi-view display component 110, a statusnotification component 120 can enhance the visual representations ofcalendar items in the schedule view as well as in the peripheraloverview. For example, various colors can be selected to indicatedifferent status states such as out of office, busy, tentative, andfree. A lunch meeting can be colored orange to indicate that the userwill be out of the office for this appointment. Therefore, the calendaritem can appear orange in both the schedule view as well as in theperipheral view.

The user interface also includes a conflict notification component 130.The conflict notification component 130 can provide a visual cue when aconflict exists between calendar items. In particular, the conflictvisual cue can be represented in the specific calendar item in thelinear listing and a corresponding visual indicator can be shown whenthe respective bar in the peripheral overview is selected.

As discussed earlier, the peripheral overview view can display aselected block of time (e.g., in hours). When initially viewing thecalendar items on “open” in the calendar application/program, the homeview of the calendar can be customized by way of an intelligent viewcontrol 140. The home view can set a default time window to alwaysappear initially when opening or activating the program. For example,the home view can automatically show only morning or only afternoonactivities. In the alternative, the intelligent view control 140 canexamine the user's calendar items and determine when most of thecalendar items are scheduled and then show the time frame that shows themajority of items. For instance, suppose that a majority of the user'scalendar items occur in the morning (a first time window). Based on thisdetermination, the intelligent view control 140 can infer that the moreappropriate home view is the “morning” time window. The time windowappearing in the home view can change daily based on the calendar itemsfor the given day or can be fixed (e.g., always show the morning timewindow).

The intelligent view control 140 can also determine which time window toshow in the home view by examining the priority or importance levelassigned to the calendar items. For example, imagine that there are twohigh priority items scheduled in the morning (e.g., before noon) and 6“normal” or lower priority items set in the afternoon (e.g. noon-5 PM).The intelligent view control 140 can be programmed to automatically showthe higher priority items in the home view even though the majority ofthe user's activities are scheduled in the afternoon.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is a block diagram of the multi-viewdisplay component 110 as introduced in FIG. 1 that displays calendaritems from at least two different perspectives (e.g., schedule view andoverview strip view) to provide a user with both current and peripheralinformation. The user interface includes a time window display object210 and a schedule display object 220—both of which can convey somesimilar information. In particular, the schedule display object 220lists calendar items in chronological order so that the user can readilydetermine the next meeting, appointment, event, etc. The user can easilyread the content of each calendar item in the list and through the useof various visual indicators, can quickly determine her state in termsof being busy, out of the office, or tentatively occupied and whetherany calendar items conflict with each other.

The time window display object 210 provides a compressed view of theinformation displayed in the schedule display object 220 for aparticular block of time. As the user scrolls through the list of itemsin the schedule display object 220 (via one or more navigationcomponents 230), the time window can shift or slide left or rightdepending on the items on display in or by the schedule display object220. Thus, the time window can be set at 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Here, theuser can see where items exist during this 10 hour period and can seethe duration of each item (e.g., 1 hour, 30 minutes, 11/2 hours, etc.).

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is a diagram of an exemplary user interface300 that optimizes viewing calendar items from multiple perspectives ina simultaneous manner. The user interface 300 comprises a device statebar 310 that can provide information about the device such as batterylife, AC adapter use, signal strength, connection speed, availablememory, and the like. The user interface 300 can also include a userstate bar 320 that provides information more related to the user orconditions of the user's environment. For example, the user state barcan display the current date and/or time, current ambient temperature,and/or current weather conditions.

In addition, the user interface 300 comprises an overview strip or bar330 that provides an overview of the user's schedule and availabilitywithin a several hour time frame. For instance, the overview bar 330 canindicate a user's availability or when calendar items exist over a 9hour block of time. By contrast, the user interface 300 also includes acalendar item view space 340 that provides a more detailed view of eachcalendar item. The calendar item view space 340 can show the first 4calendar items within that 9 hour block in greater detail. The user canscroll down or navigate to a previous or next page to see any othercalendar items that may exist during or outside of that same 9 hourblock of time. Hence, the user can get a better overall sense of a day'soutlook quickly at-a-glance while still retaining the ability to seemore detailed information regarding at least a subset of calendar itemsthat are presently onscreen.

As the user navigates backward or forward through his/her calendaritems, animation effects can be utilized to emphasize the change inhours that are visible in the overview bar 330. For example, imaginethat the current block of time in the overview bar 330 ranges from 10 AMto 6 PM. The user navigates to view other calendar items in the calendaritem view space 340 that are presently off-screen. As the user moves toitems set to occur after 6 PM, the block of time in the overview bar 330can visibly slide to the left to show any events scheduled between 6 PMand 12 AM. By using such animation effects, the user retains somecontext of the current content when the overview bar shifts in eitherdirection.

FIG. 4 illustrates such features in more graphical detail. Inparticular, the user interface 400 displays existing calendar items fora particular day (e.g., Sep. 19, 2005) from two different viewpoints. Inthe first, an overview strip or bar 420 provides a compressed view ofthe user's activities between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM. It should beappreciated that the time can be shown in civilian time or in militarytime such as is depicted in the user interface 400.

In the second, a schedule view 430 provides an expanded view of at leasta subset of calendar items 410 at a time. As a result, greater detailwith respect to each calendar item is visible. For example, the overviewbar 420 indicates that the user has an activity at 9:00 to 9:30 AM; anactivity at 12:00 to 1:30 PM; an activity at 1:30 to 2:00 PM; andanother activity at 4:00 to 5:30 PM. By quickly glancing at the screen,the user can discern when he has free time. However, at the same time,the user can also see what activity is planned from 9:00 to 9:30 in themorning as well as its location. As the user scrolls up or down in theschedule view 430, the overview bar 420 can shift automatically to theappropriate block of time without direct user manipulation.

In addition to indicating when calendar items are set to occur and theirduration, the overview bar 420 can also provide more meaningfulinformation about each particular item. For instance, color can beemployed to indicate the user's state. One color can signify a “busy”state while another color or a different shade of the same color cansignify an “out of office” state. In this user interface 400, the colorpurple indicates that the user will be out of the office for a lunchmeeting at 12:00 PM. Color can also be used to describe additionalaspects of the item. For instance, pink can designate appointments oractivities for the user's daughter; green can be used for the user'sdoctor appointments; and red can be used for “attendance mandatory”events. Thus, when the user sees pink or green items, he can immediatelyrecognize and acknowledge particular details about the respective itemswithout actually looking up or referencing the items in the scheduleview 430.

Navigation within the calendar item view space (or schedule view 430)can also be visualized in the overview bar 420. For example, imaginethat the user highlights the 12:00 PM appointment in the schedule view.The corresponding time is also selected or boxed (blue selection box) inthe overview bar 420. Similarly, an item's color can be reflected inboth the overview bar 420 and the schedule view 430.

FIG. 5 provides an enlarged view of an exemplary overview strip 500 inorder to better illustrate the spacing of hours. The overview stripallows the user to view his schedule and availability from a time-lineperspective. As indicated in FIG. 5, each segment of time (e.g., eachhour) in the strip starts at the left edge of the number and ends at theleft edge of the next number. If an appointment is scheduled to start at9:00 AM and end at 9:30 AM, then a first portion of the 9 o'clocksegment can be shaded to indicate that an event is scheduled to begin at9:00 AM and last for 30 minutes. For very short appointments such asthose that last for 0 or 1 minute, a minimum of one vertical line ofpixels can be displayed to indicate to the user that an item, thoughvery brief in duration, exists at that time.

FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 of exemplary status indicators and correspondingvisual cues (e.g., color) that can be reflected in a calendar item inthe schedule view as well as in the overview strip. For example, variousshades of blue to purple can indicate tentative, busy, and out ofoffice, whereas white can indicate “free”. It should be appreciated thatother colors or status types can be employed as well.

Moving on to FIG. 7, there is an exemplary user interface 700 whichdisplays two different visual indicators for an all-day calendar item.In particular, the schedule view and overview strip view each includeone visual indicator. The overview strip displays a solid line 710 abovethe hours whereas the schedule view displays the text of the all-dayitem 720 set apart from all of the other calendar items 730. The colorof the line and the calendar item can correspond to a status indicatoras discussed in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, supra. When more than one all-dayitem is scheduled for any one day, the line can be depicted in variousmanners in order to represent that more than one all-day event isplanned for that day. Alternatively, the solid line can notify the userthat at least one all-day event exists on that day. It should beappreciated that the line 720 can be solid as shown in FIG. 7 or canappear as dotted, dashed, or otherwise broken to provide the user withadditional context regarding the item.

Turning now to FIG. 8, there is an exemplary user interface 800displaying a visual representation of conflicting calendar items both inthe schedule view and overview strip. In the schedule view, theconflicting calendar items each have an icon or symbol 810 (encircled bydashed line) displayed thereon. When selected in the schedule view, thecorresponding block of time in the overview strip is outlined in someother color such as red to notify the user that calendar items overlapor are in conflict with one another. When appointments overlap eachother in the overview strip, priority can be given based on the statusof the appointment. The status color of the selected item can be broughtto the foreground. Higher priority items can be represented usingspecified colors, shading, or by associating a symbol therewith so thatthe user can readily identify which items have a higher priority, andthus require the user's attention. It should be appreciated that lowerpriority or no-priority items in conflict with higher priority items canstill be visible to the user, however they may appear faded or in adifferent color than higher priority items.

For conflicting items having the same priority, the user interfacecontrol system can determine which item the particular user is mostlikely to prefer and visually enhance that item for easier readability.Such determinations can be made using inference systems as well asartificial intelligence systems that can learn from the user'shistorical data including but not limited to previously entered calendaritems.

Moving on to FIG. 9, there is a diagram that demonstrates exemplary timewindows for a 24-hour period which can be based on screen orientation(e.g., portrait or landscape). For most users, the majority of theirdaily activity takes place within an 8-10 hour span of time. By settingfixed or flexible time windows, the number of context changes the userwill have to experience as they navigate their schedule view can beminimized. The scrolling itself can employ the following algorithm:

-   -   Initial Condition: start in the 2.sup.nd set of hours (including        days which have no appointments at all).    -   When an appointment is selected, check if any part of that        appointment is visible in the set of hours currently shown.        -   If so, stay in the current set of hours.        -   If not, page to the appropriate set of hours so it is            visible.            If the appropriate set of hours is ambiguous, show the set            which is in closest time proximity to the currently shown            set of hours. For example: if the user scrolls from a 6 AM            appointment (unambiguously in the 1.sup.st set) to a 5 PM            appointment (in both the 2.sup.nd and 3.sup.rd sets), the            algorithm should choose set 2 since it is closer to set 1.

In order to provide additional context for various aspects of thesubject invention, FIG. 10 and the following discussion are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable operating environment1010 in which various aspects of the subject invention may beimplemented. While the invention is described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed byone or more computers or other devices, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the invention can also be implemented in combination withother program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, however, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks orimplement particular data types. The operating environment 1010 is onlyone example of a suitable operating environment and is not intended tosuggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of theinvention. Other well known computer systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the invention includebut are not limited to, personal computers, hand-held or laptop devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,distributed computing environments that include the above systems ordevices, and the like.

With reference to FIG. 10, an exemplary environment 1010 forimplementing various aspects of the invention includes a computer 1012.The computer 1012 includes a processing unit 1014, a system memory 1016,and a system bus 1018. The system bus 1018 couples system componentsincluding, but not limited to, the system memory 1016 to the processingunit 1014. The processing unit 1014 can be any of various availableprocessors. Dual microprocessors and other multiprocessor architecturesalso can be employed as the processing unit 1014.

The system bus 1018 can be any of several types of bus structure(s)including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus orexternal bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available busarchitectures including, but not limited to, 11-bit bus, IndustrialStandard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MCA), ExtendedISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB),Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Universal Serial Bus (USB),Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association bus (PCMCIA), and Small Computer SystemsInterface (SCSI).

The system memory 1016 includes volatile memory 1020 and nonvolatilememory 1022. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basicroutines to transfer information between elements within the computer1012, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 1022. Byway of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 1022 caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory 1020 includes random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as static RAM (SRAM),dynamic RAM (DRAM), static DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and directRambus (DRDRAM).

Computer 1012 also includes removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatilecomputer storage media. FIG. 10 illustrates, for example a disk storage1024. Disk storage 1024 includes, but is not limited to, devices like amagnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tape drive, Jaz drive, Zipdrive, LS-100 drive, flash memory card, or memory stick. In addition,disk storage 1024 can include storage media separately or in combinationwith other storage media including, but not limited to, an optical diskdrive such as a compact disk ROM device (CD-ROM), CD recordable drive(CD-R Drive), CD rewritable drive (CD-RW Drive) or a digital versatiledisk ROM drive (DVD-ROM). To facilitate connection of the disk storagedevices 1024 to the system bus 1018, a removable or non-removableinterface is typically used such as interface 1026.

It is to be appreciated that FIG. 10 describes software that acts as anintermediary between users and the basic computer resources described insuitable operating environment 1010. Such software includes an operatingsystem 1028. Operating system 1028, which can be stored on disk storage1024, acts to control and allocate resources of the computer system1012. System applications 1030 take advantage of the management ofresources by operating system 1028 through program modules 1032 andprogram data 1034 stored either in system memory 1016 or on disk storage1024. It is to be appreciated that the subject invention can beimplemented with various operating systems or combinations of operatingsystems.

A user enters commands or information into the computer 1012 throughinput device(s) 1036. Input devices 1036 include, but are not limitedto, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad,keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TVtuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and thelike. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1014through the system bus 1018 via interface port(s) 1038. Interfaceport(s) 1038 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, agame port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1040 usesome of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1036. Thus, forexample, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1012 and tooutput information from computer 1012 to an output device 1040. Outputadapter 1042 is provided to illustrate that there are some outputdevices 1040 like monitors, speakers, and printers among other outputdevices 1040 that require special adapters. The output adapters 1042include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and soundcards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1040and the system bus 1018. It should be noted that other devices and/orsystems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such asremote computer(s) 1044.

Computer 1012 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s)1044. The remote computer(s) 1044 can be a personal computer, a server,a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance,a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to computer1012. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1046 isillustrated with remote computer(s) 1044. Remote computer(s) 1044 islogically connected to computer 1012 through a network interface 1048and then physically connected via communication connection 1050. Networkinterface 1048 encompasses communication networks such as local-areanetworks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). LAN technologies includeFiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed DataInterface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE 1102.3, Token Ring/IEEE 1102.5 and thelike. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-pointlinks, circuit switching networks like Integrated Services DigitalNetworks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, andDigital Subscriber Lines (DSL).

Communication connection(s) 1050 refers to the hardware/softwareemployed to connect the network interface 1048 to the bus 1018. Whilecommunication connection 1050 is shown for illustrative clarity insidecomputer 1012, it can also be external to computer 1012. Thehardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1048includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and externaltechnologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems,cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

What has been described above includes examples of the subject systemand/or method. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing the subject system and/or method, but one of ordinary skillin the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutationsof the subject system and/or method are possible. Accordingly, thesubject system and/or method are intended to embrace all suchalterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spiritand scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that theterm “includes” is used in either the detailed description or theclaims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to theterm “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

1. A computer-implemented method for displaying calendar items on a display, comprising: a computing system displaying one or more calendar items in a schedule view and an overview strip, the overview strip comprising a chronological time line with a user's availability and schedule indicated thereon; the computing system displaying at least one status indicator that indicates a status of a calendar item listed in the schedule view and the overview strip; the computing system determining that a first calendar item conflicts with a second calendar item; the computing system determining that the first calendar item has priority over the second calendar item; and the computing system identifying in the overview strip that the first calendar item conflicts with the second calendar item and that the first calendar item has priority over the second calendar item by using a first color in displaying the first calendar item in the overview strip and using a second color in displaying the second calendar item in the overview strip, the first color specifying the first calendar item has a higher priority, wherein determining that the first calendar item has priority over the second calendar item comprises determining that the first calendar item and the second calendar item have the same priority and selecting one of the first calendar item and the second calendar item as having priority.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying at least a subset of calendar items in a list form.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a compressed view of calendar items that exist within a selected block of time.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying at least one set of hours for a given day.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying an all-day indicator to indicate when at least one all-day calendar item exists for a given day.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving inputs navigating between calendar items in the schedule view.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising sliding the overview strip to a different time window based on the items displayed in the schedule view.
 8. A computer-implemented method for displaying calendar information, comprising: a computing system displaying an overview strip that provides an overview of calendar items according to when they are scheduled to occur as well as user availability within a several hour time frame, the overview strip comprising a chronological time line with a user's availability and schedule indicated thereon; and the computing system displaying a calendar item view space that provides a more detailed view of one or more calendar items whereby the number of calendar items visible at once depends in part on available screen real estate, wherein the overview strip is adapted to display a conflict indication that a first calendar item conflicts with a second calendar item and that the first calendar item has priority over the second calendar item, wherein the conflict indication comprises using a first color to display the first calendar item and using a second color to display the second calendar item, the first color specifying the first calendar item has a higher priority, and wherein, when the first calendar item and the second calendar item have the same priority, the computing system determines which of the items the user is most likely to prefer and visually enhances that item for easier readability.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the overview strip is oriented in a horizontal manner above the calendar item view space.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the overview strip comprises a line when at least one all-day calendar item exists for a given day.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the overview strip comprises bars for each calendar item that indicates the calendar item's duration, wherein each bar appears at the items respective times.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the bars in the overview strip appear in the same color as displayed in the calendar item view space.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein color represents at least one of the following: status of the calendar item, status of the user for the calendar item, and priority of the calendar item.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the bar is one pixel in length for a calendar item lasting 1 minute or less in duration.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein conflicting calendar items are indicated by at least one of a symbol, icon, or color.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the overview strip provides a peripheral view of user activity and availability across a time window that extends beyond the number of calendar items visible at a time in the calendar item view space.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the calendar items are represented in the overview strip and in the calendar item view space in a similar manner to convey status, selection, and conflict information to the user.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the overview strip comprises a fixed time window based on user preferences when initially opening a calendar program.
 19. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the overview strip comprises a flexible time window which is based on when a majority of the calendar items are scheduled for a given day, thus minimizing context changes during navigation of the calendar item view space.
 20. A computer-implemented method for displaying calendar items from multiple perspectives on a display, comprising: a computing system displaying one or more calendar items in a schedule view and an overview strip, the overview strip comprising a chronological time line with the conflict being indicated thereon; the computing system displaying at least one status indicator that indicates a status of a calendar item listed in the schedule view and the overview strip; and the computing system providing at least one conflict indicator to indicate a conflict between calendar items in the schedule view and in the overview strip view, the at least one conflict indicator comprising an indication in the overview strip that a first calendar item conflicts with a second calendar item and that the first calendar item has priority over the second calendar item, wherein the at least one conflict indicator indicates that the first calendar item has priority over the second calendar item by using a first color in displaying the first calendar item in the overview strip and using a second color in displaying the second calendar item in the overview strip, the first color specifying the first calendar item has a higher priority, and wherein, when the first calendar item and the second calendar item have the same priority, the computing system determine which of the items the user is most likely to prefer and visually enhances that item for easier readability. 